The Sapphire Pass: All-Father

Othello

Year H-3

"Beta Team, identify!" Commander Yew barked.

"Othello, O2, NAM South!" a pale young man with dark hair yelled.

"Ophelia, O2, NAM Central!" a girl with bright yellow eyes called out from the opposite side of the room, running to stand with her teammate.

"Tab-up red and gray. Mission details are as follows: Retrieve crystals from NAM Central, two kilometers south of the entry point. Focus priority, yellow and blue. Move out! Destination in 10!"

"Yes commander!" the two spoke loudly in unison, each swallowing one red and one grey tablet, dry.

The two turned and walked swiftly, following the right-hand side of the long corridor until they reached the lockers. They each grabbed their always stocked gear packs, and changed to their mission dark clothes.

Initializing... 3... 2... 1... Enter.

They grasped hands, walking through the quiet hum of the portal generators.

The portal closed behind them with a rush and a hiss as they crouched low behind the the dense trees and scanned their surroundings briefly.

"All clear," Ophelia whispered as her partner checked their position to be sure they would head in the proper direction.

"Let's go," he whispered back, moving at a slow pace through the dense foliage of the trees.

Othello leaned against a tree taking a deep breath, feeling a familiar warmth rush through him as the chemical tablets he ingested earlier took effect.

"We need to move faster," Ophelia said pointing to a small path in the trees.

"There are bikes," he said, wrenching two rusted sets of handle bars from the over growth.

"I've heard of those. They were crude of transportation mainly used by children." she said. "It's supposed to be easy with proper balance."

Othello nodded at her, and looked them over for a minute before swinging one leg over the rusty object, giving the pedal a small experimental push.

"We'll be fine. Hopefully we can cover more ground this way, keep your head low." he said, smiling at her.

They rode quickly along the narrow path toward their target, passing a few over grown parks before setting the bikes down behind an old run-down house at the edge of the trees.

"Should be on the other side," she said checking the faint blip on her wrist.

They edged around the clearing, checking their surroundings as they went.

"Look, a blue and a yellow right next to each other," Othello said looking up at the stunning rainbow colors of the canopy.

"Okay, you start digging and I'll grab our packs." she said removing her gear pack and handing him a collapsible shovel.

She pulled his pack from his back and grabbed the small pouches that were tucked away. Strapping one around his waist, and two around her own.

She grabbed a small trowel from her pack and they fell into a rhythm. As he moved back with the larger shovel removing dirt, she dug in with hers. Together they made light work of the area around the roots of the tree.

"There they are," he said, seeing the faint glow of the crystals beneath the tree. "Gather them and I'll work on the second."

She went to work, digging and collecting crystals as she went. She finally stopped when she noticed the tree starting to sag and droop.

"We're all tapped out," she said moving to help her teammate to collect the final yellow crystals.

"They'll be here soon then. Help me collect a few more and then we'll move." he said, putting his full pack of crystals in her bag.

He kept his eyes alert as he closed and shrugged his gear pack back over his shoulders.

"Okay, done." Ophelia said, jumping up and taking her pack from him.

They covered their ears as a shrill warning sounded from the once white-barked tree as it started to shrivel and turn black. They ran as fast as they could over under fallen branches and over the large roots the protruded from the surface of the ground. Quickly making it back to where they had stashed their bikes and pedaled faster than they though possible.

"We should've gone faster," Othello yelled to her as they made their way through one of the parks they passed earlier.

A glowing streak of light in the air caught their attention. A moon arrow raced toward them, it's glowing figure seeming to stop momentarily as it grew bigger before landing upright in the ground with a thud.

Othello turned the bike sideways sliding to a stop and stared at the shadowy figure on top of a nearby hill. White eyes and silver hair shimmering in the moonlight.

He grabbed the large arrow which now more closely resembled a thick, flat javelin with spikes pointed backward along it's length. His regret was immediate, as the arrow's electric properties immediately stung and sizzled as it burned through his thin gloves.

He let go, falling back, but somehow managed to find his feet and sprint forward. He caught a brief flash of the shadow moving down the hill as he tried to catch up with his partner who was still unaware that he'd fallen behind.

He made it to the small path and ran at top speed, the leaves of the low branches stinging and cutting him as he flew by. He slowed when he noticed the bike Ophelia was riding, it's back tire still spinning madly.

An arm grabbed him as he jogged up to it. Pulling him into a nearby bush and covering his mouth. He only fought for a moment before he recognized his partner.

She held a finger up to her lips, and followed her gaze. Her eyes were locked on a mid-sized mass in front of them. It only stopped for a moment to examine the bike before it moved along silently down the path.

"Are you alright?" she whispered as quietly as she could.

"Sorry, I got a little caught up," he said with a half smile. "We need to get back before they find the entry point."

They began hearing voices as they neared their destination. It was in a language they couldn't understand. They turned on their internal sight enhancer units, and the whole forest lit up.

"Damn. They're everywhere," she said. "We'll need a distraction. Do we still have the offensive bricks?"

He nodded, turning her around and pulling a few contraptions from her gear pack. He stuck one to a tree and they ran, bracing themselves against the base of a large tree.

The earth shattering boom made their ears ring loudly and they could see figures running past and they took off a quickly as the could. Making it safely to their destination, stopping dead in their tracks when they spied a single shadow between them and their way home.

"When I say 'go' you go." he said, a serious look on his face.

She could only nod. Knowing exactly what his plan was.

"Go," he yelled charging straight toward the creature in front of him.

She wasn't fast enough to clear the blast  and another explosion rocked the ground. Bark, leaves, and dirt fell in chunks, crystals raining down like shimmering pieces of glass shrapnel.

"Othello!" she yelled over the metallic sound in her ears.

She heard a groan, and found him, the gaping wound in his chest bleeding profusely.

"Go," he said, his voice barely audible.

She stood grabbing his pack and touched the activator embedded in the side of her neck.

"We're trying to help you!" a voice yelled behind her but she couldn't hear it as the final tear over her fallen friend escaped and she stepped back into her own time.